D60 CMOS cleaning

[Boozhound]

I have tried cleaning the CMOS as per the instruction book but am still left with lots of annoying dots on my pictures when taken at f8 and which get more annoying as I go up to f22.

For example:

http://www.scottishpubguide.com/test


Is there a particular technique to this or am I best sending it to a service centre?

Thanks

Simon

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Simon,

I've got some useful items here and links to a couple of good how-to articles:

http://www.rogercavanagh.com/helpinfo/09_cleaning.htm

Regards,

[Boozhound]

Many Thanks,

I will have a go.

The swabs are a little on the expensive side though !!!

Simon

[martcol]

Simon, good luck with the sensor cleaning thing! Looked at your photo and wow, it certainly needs sorting.

My 10D has just started to show signs of dirt and I am sooooo careful and soooo gutted! I have two or three spots although only one is prominent, and I am debating whether to clean it or not. I have had a look and to me the sensor looks absolutely perfect!

Post how you get on maybe, with a blow-by-blow account!

Roger, have you ever cleaned a sensor? I have read on another forum that the specgrabber actually made the thing worse. I've got one, it looks as though it makes sense but I'm reluctant to poke about in there!

One other thing - will dirt in a sensor show in the same place on the photo or will it be diagonally oposite to?

Martin

[Boozhound]

Hi Martin,

I was outdoors one very windy day and the next thing I knew........

I have ordered a Speckgrabber. I googled around and it seemed to get around an 80% approval rating. I have also ordered a bottle of eclipse and I am going to try to make my own swabs as per Thom Hogan.

I will let you know what happens.

Simon

[Roger_Cavanagh]

martcol wrote:
Roger, have you ever cleaned a sensor? I have read on another forum that the specgrabber actually made the thing worse. I've got one, it looks as though it makes sense but I'm reluctant to poke about in there!

Did it on my old D30 a few times - no trouble at all. Be gentle, as they say. Cleaning can be a pain because you can't always see the specs. The Speckgrabber (a ludicrous amount of money for what you get) just has a tiny sliver of some kind of high tech "rubber".To clean in, you just wash after use and let it dry - no good wiping it with a cloth. :) I can only imagine that people who had trouble with them did not ensure the SG was clean before they started.

Then one thing I will do before cleaning the 10D is create my own spatula for PecPads to make it easier to get into the corners.

One other thing - will dirt in a sensor show in the same place on the photo or will it be diagonally oposite to?

Need an old-fashioned film guy to answer this one... I'm not 100%. I think the image might upside down, so then the speck would be diagonally opposite. But I'm not investing much ego in this answer. :)

Regards,

[Mr.Jalapeno]

http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/sensor-cleaning.shtml

[PacAce]

Roger_Cavanagh wrote:
One other thing - will dirt in a sensor show in the same place on the photo or will it be diagonally oposite to?

Need an old-fashioned film guy to answer this one... I'm not 100%. I think the image might upside down, so then the speck would be diagonally opposite. But I'm not investing much ego in this answer. :)


You hit it on the right head, Roger, since the image WILL be upside down, whether the image is on a sensor or film.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Eclipse is just methanol,... so why not Isopropyl Alchohol? (NOT rubbing alchohol,.. which has a much higher water content)

Another solutin for a swab would be to make your own. Use the lint free cloths sold to clean a lens or LCD monitor,. and cut peices and tape it to the end of a soft compressed fiber stick,. like a lollipop stick or Q-tip stick. None of the above will scratch glass.

[martcol]

Can (sould) you use these cleaners on the sensor or will it not fizz away and evaporate into a puff of blue smoke?

Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

Martin

[robertwgross]

I had a simple dust spot on my D60's sensor. I simply wetted a Q-tip cotton swab with a fraction of a drop of lens cleaner solution, and then went in after it. Ten seconds and I was done. Of course, the camera was completely powered down with the battery out.

---Bob Gross---

[john_houghton]

My cleaning technique is to first examine the sensor by laying a small piece of plain glass over the camera's lens mount aperture and viewing the reflection of a table lamp using a hand lens. There's no risk of further contamination of the sensor and the small specks of dust show up very clearly. Then I use a small soft artist's brush to gently pick off the dust specks. I have only had to do this once each for a D30 and a D60 but it has worked fine each time.

John

[martcol]

john_houghton wrote:
use a small soft artist's brush to gently pick off the dust specks.

That sounds like a good idea john, I think I might have to go in on my 10D soon. I've always been a bit apprehensive about a blower brush because I just wonder where it blows stuff to. In my mind, the dust particles will nip off and hide in a corner until you put the lens back on!

Martin

[wenyao]

I have used SpeckGrabber and didn't like it very much - contrary to what the product brochure had said, it did leave a bluish dab stain every time I dabbed at a spot.
But I think it does have a use for stubborn stains though, but you should supplement the SpeckGrabber with a thorough wipe with Eclipse and lint-free cloth.

[PacAce]

robertwgross wrote:
I had a simple dust spot on my D60's sensor. I simply wetted a Q-tip cotton swab with a fraction of a drop of lens cleaner solution, and then went in after it. Ten seconds and I was done. Of course, the camera was completely powered down with the battery out.

---Bob Gross---

How'd you manage to get the mirror to lock up and the shutter to open with the camera powered down and the battery out???

[robertwgross]

You can flip and hold the mirror with one finger. You can get everything open (with battery operating). Then, right before you go in with the Q-tip (holding everything open), you can remove the battery. The other option is to select the sensor cleaning mode, which (I think) similarly shuts down power to the sensor.

The sensor itself is kind of shiny, but you have to get light reflecting off of its surface at the right angles in order to be able to actually see the dust spot.

---Bob Gross---

[dwdmguy]

Man o Man, you guys better be more careful that that!

The best, and only way, to clean this CMOS without going to Canon is to use a elephant bulb and blow. But the secret is to blow (while open or BULB setting) at an angle and never stright down.

Blowing with the bulb stright down could and does cause the dust to become more embedded into the sensor where an angle should blow dust off of the sensor.

Q-tips? Wipes? Please don't.

For those in New Jersey, bring it to Jamesburg.
Tom

[martcol]

This bl*$£y sensor cleaning thing is killin' me!

I started with 3 spots - only one was really noticable or maybe 1 1/2. I blew it with a blower, no brush just the puffer thing. then the blotches moved. Then I had another go and the blotches invited their families over!

so I tried a spec-grabber very, very, carefully. B$%**er. Looked like one of lluscombe's herons had landed in that glossy pool! (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10727)

Anyway, then I tried Eclipse and Pec-pad and managed to shift those little dust spots around a bit so they can enjoy a different view.

I think I will need to take my 10D in. Oh, please don't take my baby away from me, please don't take it away...

Seriously though, this dust and sensor thing is a real hazard. I have been so, so careful when changing lenses. Honest, so, so careful. Maybe I did something awful in a former life.

I'm rambling 'cos I'm upset and yes, I've been drinking!

Martin

[CyberDyneSystems]

dwdmguy wrote:
Man o Man, you guys better be more careful that that!

The best, and only way, to clean this CMOS without going to Canon is to use a elephant bulb and blow. But the secret is to blow (while open or BULB setting) at an angle and never stright down.

Blowing with the bulb stright down could and does cause the dust to become more embedded into the sensor where an angle should blow dust off of the sensor.

Q-tips? Wipes? Please don't.

For those in New Jersey, bring it to Jamesburg.
Tom


Is or Is not the sensor covered by a piece of clear glass??? It sounds as you are saying that they are contacting the sensor directly. If it is covered by glass than it should have plenty of resistance to harm.

Is there a real answer to this?

[Boozhound]

The Pec Pads and bottle of Eclipse arrived on Saturday. I got a plastic knife and cut it down to size. It took quite a while to get it right. You really must make sure that the edge is perfectly flat and square. It took a while to figure out the best way to fold the pad round the stick to get the best effect.

It took several attempts to clean the sensor. I got most of the dust off with the third attempt. (The first two, I hadn't got the edge of the stick square onto the sensor.) There were three very stubborn specks. Two moved around and one stayed put. I put a little more pressure on the stick and they were gone. I had a couple of smudges after one attempt, but they disappeared after another attempt.

I tested the camera withe the aperture set at f32 and no dust spots!

I found the experience a little nerve wracking, but i expect it will be less so the next time.

I haven't received the Speckgrabber yet, but will try it next time.

Simon

[Boozhound]

I forgot to add that I got a quote from the local service centre and they wanted £40. That's why I had a go myself. Ok, soem might say that I could have knackered the sensor and could have ended up paying more, but what the hell, life's an adventure.....




Simon

[martcol]

Well done Simon!

I wish I could report similar success. I have had about 7 or 8 attempts and failed dismally with my 10D. I have used eclipse and pec-pad and all I really managed to do was move the dust about. A couple of times it looked like it got better and I thought, "I'll have one more go and get that blotch." Then, you guessed it, it was worse. Each time, I nip outside, take 20 pictures of the sky (can't think why I did 20 as one would do or I suppose 2), download, groan, fight back the suicidal thoughts and repeat the whole processs.

On a couple of occaisions I ended up with fluff and dust on my the other internal glass! And believe me I was careful; very, very careful.

I already had a spec grabber but that made matters worse. Ended up with a smear. I suppose it was tiny, but it seemed huge to me!

Now, the other thing is it's not too bad. Only about 4 or 5 blotches. But those blotches are killing me!

Any way, I'm now off to my local dealer as they agreed to send it off to Canon. With a bit of luck, as it's so new, I might get it done free. Mind you, being without the 10D for a couple of weeks, Oh noooooooo!

Martin

[Boozhound]

Martin,

I put my D60 on a tripod raised above head level (with me sitting down) and angled it at about 45 degrees downward. I had a light positioned to help me. I did have a few times when it looked like I had added to the problem. However I had linked the camera up to my PC using the USB cable and used the Remote capture software. When I had finished cleaning, I put the lens back on, pointed the camera at a wall and took the test pic which appeared quickly on the PC. I could then see how I was doing. It also meant that I could use the onscreen pic as a guide to where to guide the cleaner next. An occasional puff from the blower brush helped too.

I would recommend that setup as it saved a lot of time.

Simon

[martcol]

That is so cool - you must be some kind of an engineer to have thought that up. I kept runnin' in and out, upstairs, assembling, disassembling, kicking the dog, swearing, breeze browzing......

Ad infinitum, ad nauseum....

[Boozhound]

[quote]martcol wrote:
That is so cool - you must be some kind of an engineer to have thought that up.



No I am just very lazy!

[kellylipp]

How 'r yall doin'?

I luved this post as I have solved this much easier than y'all. I took my camera down to my shop and put it into the part's washer. A little TEC and the sucker doesn't have a spot on it. It doesn't take pictures anymore either but whatcha gonna do?

It worked for the brake pads on my Buick.

Seriously though, I think I'll leave my fingers in my pockets and out of my camera. Ya'll scared the hell out of me. Laughed a lot, but...

[martcol]

My car is an object magnet, my head is a low beam magnet, my wallet is a scam magnet, my ex is a my-money-magnet.... Now my 10D is a dust magnet.

Keep those fingers in your pocket or on your shutter release.

The thought of taking a decent photo maintains my will to live.

Martin

[Trumper]

I have this problem with the D30,it has been sent away to Canon for cleaning on 2 occasions & did'nt look much better.
I would've thought that the boffins at Canon would've realised the problem & made it easier to clean on the D10.
Costs alot to keep posting & packing [insured ] to them & then lose the camera for a week.
I have tried the blower brush,the air cannister [yeuch].
I have just accepted that it is a drawback with Digital cameras & the pro's far out weigh the cons .I know it's not right but what are the options?.
I am still learning [slowly] about Paintshop pro & have managed to crop the photos to cut out the dust marks,i wonder how the other tools could be used to erase the problem,may be easier than sending the camera away.
Please keep us all informed,Cheers